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Thursday, January 9, 2014

Why Pebble is the Best Smartwatch on the Market

Over the last few months, smart watches have been a very popular topic in technology. This has mostly been due to the huge marketing campaign by Samsung for their Galaxy Gear, featured in almost every one of their phone commercials.What a lot of consumers don't know is that there are other smart watches out there. Sony makes one, Metawatch has one, Qualcomm has one. Point is, smart watches are exploding throughout the market, and there are definitely some choices if you decide to buy one. The Pebble is the best smart watch on the market because of its functionality, its price, and its cosmetics.

The Pebble is one of the most functional watches that are out in the slew. Initially funded through Kickstarter, it hit its goal through offering traditional time-keeping, message alerts from your phone, calling alerts from your phone, and fitness tracker apps, among other things. These apps are very useful on a day-to-day basis and makes life with a busy smartphone infinitely easier. For example, one friend I know who has one likes it for work because if he is talking to a customer or is at a meeting and gets an e-mail, he doesn't have to take out his phone and be disruptive, he can just glance at his wrist. The fitness tracker can replace the job done by a separate fitness tracker that would cost upwards of $50. It can time how long you've been working out, how far you've run, and monitors pace. Really, if you can think of a function you would want in a convenient wrist location then Pebble can do it. Many argue against the Pebble's non-touch screen and lack of camera that the Galaxy Gear had. To that I would cite GeekWire, who testifies that with an odd placement angle and low resolution, the camera isn't that great. And many have said that with such a small screen, touchscreen isn't needed, plus, if the Pebble was touch, it wouldn't be waterproof.

The Pebble is significantly cheaper than almost any other smart watch on the market at about $150 before tax. Compare that to its main competitor, the Gear, which sits at $300, and the Sony Smart watch 2, at $200. For the features that are packed in, $150 is a very reasonable price. When you consider the features and durability of the Pebble, that's an extremely fair price. Not by any means just some toy that you can throw around, but for some top-notch next-gen technology, its pretty stellar. If you're in the market for a smart watch at all, the Pebble is definitely the way to go, especially if you're not sure about the whole concept and want to try it out.

Now for the cosmetics. While the pebble doesn't quite get the sleekness or sexiness of the Galaxy Gear, it is incredibly thin if you compare it to Sony's smart watch. This was a downfall of a lot of first-gen smartwatches, was that it was like a little cube sitting on your wrist (alright, maybe it wasn't that bad, but you get the idea). The Pebble is also completely waterproof, which lends a lot of attractiveness to the product. This lets it be used in water sports, snow sports, and on a particularly bad weather day. The Pebble also has a nice band which is durable, There's nothing worse on regular watches than having the band wear out and having to go buy a new one. With the Pebble, you're practically set for life. There are of course though, customization options. Pebble initially comes in red or black, but you can add skins to make it almost any color. Similarly, you can buy different bands if it suits your fancy. The cosmetics of this watch put it way above any other market competitor.

The rapid increase in the amount of smart watches on the market has led to a lot of debate on which one is the best. There are some major names producing right now, and many are compelled to choose with brand preference. The Pebble smart watch, however, is the best watch, and made by a relatively small company. The Pebble is the best on the market because of its functionality, its price, and its cosmetics.